Molly's Pilgrim is an excellent story of the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Molly has just moved to America from Russia, and is not enjoying it one bit. Kids in her third grade class make fun of her all the time because of her clothes and accent. She can't stand it, especially her worst enemy, Elizabeth. When Molly's class starts a project on Thanksgiving, they are told to make a doll. When Molly tells her mother this, her mother makes a doll for her, and the doll looks exactly the way her mother did when she was a girl. Her mother tells her that the Pilgrims fled England because they wanted to practice their religion freely, this is exactly what Molly's parents did, making them Pilgrims. That day, Molly takes it to school, but it looks very different from everyone else's. The children make fun of her, but they have a very big lesson to learn; the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Anyone will enjoy this story, old or young, because many can relate to it.

The only negative thing I can think of to say about this book is that when I read it aloud, I have a very hard time not crying. It is a short and simple story (longer than a picture book, but an adult can read it aloud in one sitting, and most second or third graders could read it to themselves), but one of the most moving children's books I know of.

Molly is a turn of the century Jewish immigrant girl from Russia. She lives in a small town, where no one understands her, and other children make fun of her clothes, and accent and her ignorance of American customs. In November, her classmates are appalled that she has never heard of Thanksgiving. But as we get to know Molly better, we, and eventually her classmates, realize that this child, who left her country and moved to America so that she and her family could practice their religion without fear is no different from the first pilgrims.

By the time they reach second or third grade, most children have heard the story of the first Thanksgiving many, many times. This is a wonderful way to renew the meaning of the story for them, by reminding them that people are still coming to American for the same reasons they came hundreds of years ago.

Mrs. Stickly asks the class to make a pilgrim for Thanksgiving. Molly's mother makes one that looks like her. Mollys Pilgrim is a great book! At the end Molly understands that being different isn't bad. by Barbara Cohen

Earth and its people are at risk. Most of our personal and global problems don't readily improve because we are emotionally bonded to the destructive way of thinking that produces them. Our dilemmas are psychological addictions. They must be treated as such if they are to change.

The Natural Systems Thinking Process in Reconnecting With Nature provides a psychological key to personal and environmental wellness. It helps us make conscious sensory contacts with nature that replace our destructive subconscious bonds with responsible ways of relating.

Doing the book's activities produced the following repeatable, teachable, discoveries with respect to living in balance and peace with people and the environment. If you use the book correctly, you can produce similar results. Think about what Earth and our personal relationships would be if many people learned to do these activities.

Sustainability: "As I continued the forest activity, I found myself attracted to the various songs of the birds and then gradually to the various stones and nuts and shells in the path. I would stop in the path, pick up the stone, admire its beauty and then feel clearly called to return it to its appropriate place. So often other times I have felt I needed to put it in my pocket and carry it home. Now, through the activity, I had a real sense of appreciating each rock, each shell, each leaf in its place for the time I was there. I felt suddenly freed from the need to possess something. I had a growing sense of letting things be and to just be still and glory in the fullness of the moment. As I allowed myself to connect, appreciate, thank and move on with so much of what surrounded me, I felt a letting go into being present. In this transformation, I began to feel I was part of the scene more, not my other self that needed to possess. I learned that I do not need to possess something to have the joy of it."

Peace: "I was never taught to ask permission to relate to people or the environment, I just did it, we all do. However, this activity required my senses to learn how to ask an attractive tree covered area for its consent for me to walk through it. The area continued to feel attractive, but something changed. It was the first time in my life that I totally felt safe. It felt like Earth's energies were in charge of my life, not me. It gave me a wonderful feeling of having more power to be myself. I felt in balance with nature and the people here because I could feel their energies consenting to support me. I never experienced nature that way before. It was like a strict law protected not only my life, but all of life. I felt very secure and nurtured as I walked under those trees. I learned that when I seek permission from the environment I gain energy and I belong. "

A reaction: "The experiences expressed in the above paragraphs may even be some of the most important since Earth Day 4 1/2 billion years ago. They are at least important for anyone in our possession-addicted, destructive culture to contemplate. It is significant that the nature-connect activities help us make such breakthroughs." Dr. Mark Brody, Psychologist

Participant Reactions: "Through the study I found myself feeling profoundly grateful when I identified my strong attraction to my wife as part of the web of life. It broadened that feeling. I experienced the sun more warmly, the grass under my feet more gently. My respect for nature in general was enhanced. It made my heart open to my surroundings and to care for them. To survive, our environment, and people, too, need and deserve this kind of recognition".

If I have anything to do with it (and I might) I predict that a Nobel Prize will go out to the founders of ECOPSYCHOLOGY.

I don't know of anyone else in the field ecopsychology that has pushed it to the front of scientific debate and made it so accessable to everyone in our culture.

Mike Cohen is on his way to a Nobel prize in the next decade, and I know that is not his motivation, but it should be your motivation to read his books to understand why he deserves it .

Kevin Bethel MD CM BFA

We are not human beings trying to have a natural experience, we are natural beings trying to have a human experience.

I am begining to see the clinical applications of ecopsychology and I am very exited. I can't waite until Universities and schools start making RWN and ecopsychology a part of their curriculum.

Obviously you enjoy architecture or you wouldn't be thinking of reading a review of this book. Think no further, buy the book. Frank Furness has been overlooked way too long and this book shows why in pictures and a nice overview of text why this mans work, and what is left of it, should be escalated to the heights of the finest.

It is the best book that exists for consultation on genetic syndromic hearing loss, since in very organized form it treats the audiologic aspects perfectly and genetic of these syndromes.It is my favorite book and I recommend it to you if you are geneticist or audiologist.

I read this book over the weekend and have already sent out a mass email to parents I know telling them to read this book! This book succinctly and honestly answers questions that I'm always hearing on the "parent circuit." Not only about about teasing, but about all social skills, popularity, being ostracized, girls worrying they are fat-- you name it, it is probably addressed in this book. And the authors do a wonderful job of letting you know when you are worrying too much, or too little about an issue. A must read!

This is a complete review of almost all syndromes affecting the face, with complete information about the most important conditions and very good references until june 2001. Congratulations to the authors for their great effort to put together a lot of information very useful to phisicians, dentists and many other specialists.

For parents with a desire to learn more about the psychological development of their child and the profound impact of peer pressure, this book contains some valuable information. The book deals with various aspects of development such as rejection, neglect and acceptance. The book helps the reader to understand how those elements can have a psychological influence on the child and their social interaction with others.

An extremely important section of the book deals with the school system itself and how changes need to be made to better adapt the learning environment to a childs emotional needs if the child is to development in a positive and socially acceptable manner. The book has been well researched and would be of particular interest not only to parents, but anyone invovled with the care and education of children.

This book has been a help in understanding my five-year-old's peer relationships, and is thought-provoking even for non-parents. I found the book well-organized and well-written. It helps make sense of children's behavior in terms of their needs for "connection, recognition, and power." It points out that children balance these three needs. Soon after reading this book, my son provided a stunningly concrete example of this. He and his friend had drawn chalk "tornado spinners" on the driveway. My son said, "My tornado spinner is more powerful than yours, because it's bigger." The other boy quietly said, "I'm not sure if I want to be friends with you any more." My son said, "OK, OK, they're the same power." The need for connection had won over the need for power and recognition.

There are some helpful hints to be gleaned from the book as well. Here's one I related to. Often, if a child has a problem at school with another child one day, the parent will tend to ask the child on the following day, "So, how did it go with Johnny today?" Your child, meanwhile, had forgotten all about the problem, but your comment provokes a "come to think of it..." reaction, causing the child to continue to dredge up negatives.

The book divides children into "accepted," "rejected," and "neglected" types, to describe how their peers treat them. I fell squarely into the "neglected" category, which I think explains my lack of understanding of the "need to belong" that so many people feel -- I wasn't really "in the game."

The authors mention a fascinating psychological experiment dealing with the need to belong. The subject was put into a group of people, and all were supposed to look at several pairs of lines and tell which was the longer line: A or B. The members of the group were told in advance to lie in one case, and say that Line B was longer. Two out of three subjects went along with the group, and also said that Line B was longer! I was truly stunned by this result -- it explains a lot about the dark side of human behavior. One of the authors asked a group of children why they thought the subject went along with the group, and she said, "He wanted to be in the 'B-Line Club'." The authors avoid any moral denunciation of this kind of follow-the-group behavior, apparently feeling it wouldn't be appropriate in a book on psychology.

I highly recommend this book. I found it useful, and also just plain intrinsically interesting.

This book deserves many more than five stars for its careful, thoughtful, and detailed look at how children develop their social lives. Like all remarkable books, it will extend your understanding beyond your personal life experiences and provide simple, common sense guidelines for achieving outstanding results. If you only read one book this year about improving the social life of your child, make it this one!

Every book I read about the psychological problems of youngsters focuses on the forms of social exclusion and bullying that typically occur in schools and neighborhoods. Best Friends, Worst Enemies takes that as the starting point, explains what causes the social exclusion and bullying, and details what schools and parents can do to eliminate it.

Social connection between children begins at a younger age than most people believe. The book details videotaped studies of infants watching and connecting with each other. Then, step-by-step, the authors show you how social interaction develops from those early months through to dating. I was particularly impressed by the conceptual description of youngsters being assigned a place versus the in group (in or out, and high or low status in that role). Although I could not articulate it, that certainly captures my recollection of those painful teenage years.

The use of animal studies is persuasive for the ways that humans often behave. I found myself chuckling over the descriptions of Alpha male and Queen Bee female behaviors.

The best part of the book is that it points out that exclusion is bad for those who do it, as well as for those who suffer from it. So all parents and all youngsters should be concerned.

The book avoids being too technical about psychological concepts. Everything described is built around the common human needs for connection, recognition, and power.

The section about how to improve schools was very sensitively done. It pointed out that teachers almost always know what's going on, but don't always know what to do about it. The many ideas for mixing the young people up and giving them all a chance to shine will, I'm sure, make many teachers enjoy their work more and help more students. I especially liked the idea of having a counselor meet with the kids who have trouble reading social clues, and helping them discuss and learn from each other how to connect. The idea of having high-status kids mentor low-status kids over the summer was also appealing.

Parents will have a tougher job to follow the advice here. You need to set a better example, and not be exclusionary in your own life . . . not gossip about others behind their backs . . . and help opens doors for your shy and excluded, or popular and obnoxious youngster. But, it's good advice . . . if you have what it takes to follow the advice.

Ask yourself at least once a day: How can I help someone feel included and appreciated today? Then, act!

I PURCHASED THIS BOOK JUST DAYS AFTER MY FOUR YEAR OLD SON LOST HIS FATHER IN A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT. IT WAS VERY HARD TO FIND AGE APPROPRIATE MATERIAL CONCERNING THE DEATH OF A FATHER BECAUSE MOST BOOKS ON DEATH AND DYING PERTAIN TO PETS AND GRANDPARENTS OR WENT INTO THE FUNERAL AND CEMETARY ASPECTS TOO MUCH. THE CONCEPT OF "HIS BODY STOPPED WORKING" WAS A GOOD WAY TO EXPLAIN HIS PASSING. IT RE-AFFIRMED OUR BELIEFS THAT HIS FATHER WILL ALWAYS BE A PART OF HIS LIFE AND HE CAN DREAM OF HIS DAD OFTEN. THE PICTURES ARE A LITTLE LACKING BUT THE STORY IS WORTH READING. IF YOU NEED HELP EXPLAINING DEATH TO A CHILD OR WANT THEM TO KNOW THEY ARE NOT ALONE I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO YOU.

My husband died of cancer, leaving behind 5 children between the ages of 1 and 10. This book was very helpful to all of them, not just the boys. Addresses feelings they may have had during the parent's illness and death, helps to resolve issues that may have been left undone or unsaid between parent and child, and gives the child permission to continue on and live a happy life. A very hopeful, constructive, positive book that has been read over and over in our home.

I discuss this book, as well as a volume on Iraq's military confrontations with the West, in an essay in the November 1998 British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies.

This book is really a compilation of academic papers on the various psychological and social aspects of narcolepsy. Each study goes into great (technical) detail about its methodology and its results -- however, what I found to be most interesting (and valuable) are the conclusions drawn by each researcher and his/her discussion of the implications of their findings that end each chapter. The book covers many aspects of narcolepsy -- quality of life issues (i.e. self-esteem, depression, social distance, etc.), issues in managing symptoms of narcolepsy (i.e. the role of prescription drugs, napping, psychological counseling, etc.), and political and legal issues -- that I have not read about anywhere else. Although you have to sift through a bunch of academic mumbo-jumbo at the beginning of each chapter, it is these concluding sections that, in my opinion, make the book a valuable addition to the library of anyone who is living with and/or (like myself) struggling to get a better handle on his/her narcolepsy.